GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The 2013 carnaval season is upon us. Brace yourself for the never-ending brass band parades, Guggen (masked performers) and cow bells (no bikini-clad dancers here). Although there is no Carnival in Geneva, a number of towns around Lake Geneva have scheduled carnivals for late February and early March, including a Venetian carnival in […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – It’s mid-winter, time to stray-off the beaten path, time to “blur the boundaries between art forms, and open up new artistic horizons”, at least that is how the Antigel arts festival describes its programme. The prime Geneva alternative festival seeks to bring the performing arts onto alternative stages: hammams, top of buildings, under […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Geneva’s quaint outdoor ice skating rink at Bastions Park (city center) is hosting a fun weekend outdoors. On 25 January, Swiss Christophe Geissler, one of the world’s top eight lumberjack sports athletes will be facing a massive piece of ice to create an ice sculpture. Show begins at 18:00. Then on 27 January, from 14:00 to […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – With a few more days of good weather ahead of us -fingers crossed- lots of people are still hitting the river banks to bask in the sun. Although the awesome Green Library has closed its doors (see photos below), people are still making use of the great new “river beaches” by the […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The neighborhood flea markets better known as La-Ville-est-a-Vous fairs are back from their summer hiatus bringing music, food and cheap second-hand items to Geneva neighborhoods. The fun parties go on until 30 September, plenty of kids activities. Check out the schedules here. Here’s one more idea for what to do on those […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Here’s a resource for those of you with kids in town this summer. Take them for a free tour of the mini-hydroelectric power station in Vessy, canton Geneva. Inaugurated in May 2007, the “micro-hydro,” as is known in French, is powered by two turbines that coupled with a few generators produce 1.7 […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Spend an evening of hands-on science activities at the Perle-du-Lac Park in Geneva on 7 and 8 July. The Nuit de la science, is a bi-annual popular event organized by the Museum of History of Science since 2000. Visitors speak directly with scientists and learn in the simplest, and funnest, of terms […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – If this is your first summer in Geneva, cheer up, the city in summer is nothing like the rest of the year, there are loads of things happening. First in my list of free fun events this summer is CinéTransat or free outdoor films by the lake. A chance to watch a […]

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – One of my weekend pastimes in Geneva has been discovering museums in the city, and while there is much debate on whether or not Geneva has world-quality museums, I find there is plenty of room for discussion and plenty to see. Here’s the deal, entry to permanent collections in all of the […]

ANNECY, FRANCE – Kayaking, sailing, rowing, climbing, orienteering, mountain biking and exploring the beautiful outdoors are some of the summer sports activities offered for free by the city of Annecy in neighboring France. 450 spots are offered, primarily for Annecy kids, and to other children willing to engage in fitness activities this summer. Outings are […]